A relay is by definition a team effort, but two Houston running clubs took the concept a step further at Nevada's Reno-Tahoe Odyssey Relay Run Adventure.

Three teams of runners — 33 people in all — from the Houston Striders and the Bayou City Road Runners competed in the event late last month.

One of them, the Houston Bayou City Striders, took first in its division — and placed third overall — with a time of 14:14:35, less than 10 minutes behind the California team that was second. A Reno team finished first with a course record of 12:24:51.

"We were shocked when we found out we were in third place," co-captain Bob Brown, 49, said about the news that reached the team at the end of the first day. "We knew we were up there, but it was a surprise."

Striders Invade Nevada placed 57th in 18:38:29. The Houston Bayou Road Runners were 88th in 20:54:12. Ninety-three teams completed the third annual event.

Brown said each club had independently decided to participate in the Reno-Tahoe race, and each had recruited enough runners for a team and a half when someone from the Striders proposed combining efforts.

While most of the people wanted to take a slower, recreational approach, enough people were interested in running hard that the clubs were able to form a competitive team.

"We asked for volunteers and ended up with 12 relatively strong runners (five of them Houston Striders and seven of them members of BCRR)," Brown said.

Most were masters runners — older than 40. With only one woman, the team competed in the club men's division. The Houston Bayou Road Runners team placed fourth in the same division.

The relay starts in Reno and goes through the Sierra Nevada mountains and along the shores of Lake Tahoe before returning to Reno. Originally 178 miles long, the race was shortened 55 miles at the last minute to avoid a wildfire in the southern Lake Tahoe region.

That meant each person ran only two legs, ranging from four to eight miles in length, instead of three. The teams took an extended break during the race, returning to their hotel rooms instead of running the middle portion of the relay.

"That was a bit of a disappointment," Brown said. "We were all a little nervous about what was going to happen, but by the time we got there, the fire wasn't that bad."

Although the race was cut short, the team still experienced the beauty of running along Lake Tahoe while a full moon was reflected in its waters, Brown said.

Although the relay starts and finishes at nearly 4,500 feet, climbing to just over 7,300 feet on the course, no one on his team seemed bothered by the altitude, Brown said.

Brown said the relay was his first, but he hopes to do more.

"Everyone had a great time," he said. "We had a couple people who were new in our club, and they got to know people. People are cheering for you and taking pictures."

Members of the Houston Bayou City Striders were Brown, Simon Brabo, Mark Frasier, Anna Sumrall Helm, Andrew Keller, Bruce Mansur, Peter Prescott, Steve Shepard, Ted Traynor, Phil Trumby, Mark Utgard and Matt Wright.

roberta.macinnis@chron.com

read Bob Brown's contemporaneous account from the race...